TJ Dillashaw Ditches Team Alpha Male As He Prepares For Dominick Cruz

The only UFC champion Team Alpha Male has ever produced is gone. Reining UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw (pictured) is leaving the famed Sacramento-based team to start his own MMA squad at the MusclePharm facility in Colorado.

Combate first reported Dillashaw’s plans, which was subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

Dillashaw reportedly informed Team Alpha Male leader Urijah Faber earlier this week of his plans. Dillashaw will immediately begin preparing for his January 17 title tilt against Dominick Cruz at the massive gym in Denver.

A team containing other UFC fighters is being formulated as we speak.

Dillashaw training in Denver isn’t anything new, as he has flown there to work with Duane “Bang” Ludwig since the striking coach bitterly left Team Alpha Male in 2014. Oddly, Ludwig will not be joining Dillashaw’s new team at MusclePharm but he will still tutor him.

This move comes at a critical stage in Dillashaw’s blossoming career. The 29-year-old will solidify his status as the game’s top 135-pounder by beating Cruz, who never lost the UFC belt but was stripped of the gold because he’s been injured more than healthy over the past four years.

In fact, Cruz hasn’t lost in his last 11 outings, a torrid run he began in 2007.

Speaking of being hurt, Dillashaw’s exit has to sting for Faber. He was the one who recruited Dillashaw into MMA and took him under his wing. It is believe they are splitting on amicable terms.

However, this now does open the door for a future fight between the two.

Remember when Conor McGregor said last month that Faber needed to keep an eye on Dillashaw because he was a “snake in the grass” that isn’t loyal to him?